Parajanov Festival in Levandivka

Taking place in one of Lviv’s more remote and industrial districts – Levandivka – the Parajanov Festival kicked off the whole new cinema art movement in Ukraine. The festival takes its name from a Ukrainian legend of cinematic art, Sergey Parajanov. One of the 20th Century’s greatest masters of cinema, Parajanov was born in Georgia to Armenian parents. It was never likely that his work would conform to the strict socialist realism that the Soviet authorities demanded, so he carved out his own unique cinematic style. Through films like ‘Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors’ (Tini Zabutyh Predkiv), a rhapsodic celebration of Ukrainian folk culture, and ‘The Colour of Pomegranates’ (Nran Guyne), a masterpiece about Armenian poet Sayat Nova, Parajanov became an international celebrity, even as his films were banned at home and he was imprisoned. His films were just beginning to hit the foreign film festival circuit when he died in 1990.

The lavish Parajanov Festival programme includes film screenings, theatrical displays, visual projects, literary meetings, discussions, musical performances, and workshops. Throughout the festival, Levandivka will be transformed into a fine arts hub, where artists from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Poland, and Ukraine, will work together to create an unforgettable atmosphere of limitless creative synergy, guided only by the ultimate rule of freedom. Organisers are planning a great holiday concert for Independence Day on 24 August and hope to establish a flea market in Levandivsky Park – something that Parajanov would have loved. The festival is organised by Lviv City Council’s Department of Culture in partnership with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute in Warsaw, the Ernst Schering Foundation Program, and the MitOst Association. For more detailed information, please visit http://parajanov.in.ua.